Routing Process
Our team of project engineers and environmental specialists follows a detailed and lengthy process when determining possible project routes and/or route corridors for any new natural gas infrastructure project. The criteria are generally broken down into three main categories:
Cultural and land use | Ecological | Technical/engineering
Cultural and land use factors taken into consideration include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Extent of disturbance and/or proximity to:
- Residential properties
- Potentially sensitive land uses (hospitals, places of worship and schools)
- Cemeteries
- Historic places
- Parks, conservation and recreation areas
- Wildlife habitats, woodlots, wetlands and streams
- Number of properties affected
- Ability to maintain traffic flow and property access
- Proportion of routes paralleling existing roads, railroads and other linear utility infrastructure
- Economic development opportunities
- Number of road and railroad crossings
- Potential conflicts with existing utilities
- Length of considered routes
- Accessibility, terrain and slope
- Safe installation and construction workspace availability
- Engineering challenges
Environmental permitting approvals require a wide variety of environmental studies before a project can receive approval. The applicable environmental studies for potential project routes include, but are not limited to:
- wetland and stream field evaluation and reporting
- threatened and endangered species and habitat assessments
- cultural resource assessments
- stormwater pollution prevention assessment that is developed into the project Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
- Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
Our team of geologists conducts studies to determine the subsurface conditions and their suitability for proposed infrastructure routes and construction methods. As part of the geotechnical investigation, soil samples are collected and analyzed, as well as other testing measures, to determine the corrosivity of the soils to determine what, if any, mitigation measures may be needed. Adjustments to the routing and construction methods are then made to address any anomalies or unsuitable conditions that could be encountered.